Kids
by Hailfax-McGee
Summary: Kids - one has been sexually abused, one is living a lie, one doesn't realize his life is falling apart until it's too late, and another can't seem to find it in his heart to forgive.
1. Chapter 1

_**I**_

For the longest time, being separated from his brother wasn't something that Zack Martin had to worry about. For what seemed like his entire life he'd shared a bedroom, a bathroom, clothes, and privacy with his brother. He shared a life with him. Seven Seas High was different though. They had been drafted into different cabins with mixed emotions; they were both happy for a chance to be separate from the other half, but sad that their closest friend and twin brother now seemed out of reach. It wasn't until they started becoming friends with Bailey Pickett that they realized having separate rooms might be better for their relationship anyway.

It was an especially dense morning when Marion Moseby strutted up to the smoothie bar with confidence that seemed to overflow out of his small stature. The smoothie bar had only few morning customers, as usual. As it would turn out, people actually didn't want smoothies, but Zack didn't care; fewer customers meant less work for the same pay. From the minute they locked eyes from twenty or thirty feet away, Zack knew that Moseby had something to say. For a brief minute the blond-haired boy wracked his brain, trying to remember doing anything that might warrant a visit from his rival, but nothing came to mind. His pranking ways had nearly vanished ever since Maya left the ship.

"Zackary, just the person I was looking for."

"What a cawinkidink you found me here. What's up, Mr. Moseby?"

"I'd like to inform you that you're getting a new roommate. I suppose I should rephrase that." He collected himself again, straightening his bowtie. "I'd like to inform you that you're getting a roommate."

"Roommate?"

Zack hadn't had a roommate since the first few weeks on board the ship. Then, Marcus Little had been his roommate, but he quickly had to leave once his identity as Lil' Little was revealed. Ever since then, Zack had the cabin to himself. His bed remained his bed. The other bed was more of a desk, really just a surface to hold as much junk as possible, and the bathroom had been his entirely. Now he had to share it all fifty-fifty. "Where am I going to put all my stuff?"

"What's that?"

Zack shook his head, "Nothing. Where is he coming from?"

"From another cabin. Why do you ask?"

"Well why can't he stay there?"

Moseby looked over the boy's nearly innocent face. Zack was a master at manipulating people, he knew, and he wouldn't fall victim to his shenanigans. Someone who didn't know the prankster might have fallen for the wide-eyed, questioning look, but Moseby simply had to shrug it off. He knew how Zack worked. "There was an incident between the two of them. It doesn't really matter. I'm sure you'll get along grandly." That was the one thing he was sure of. He knew Zack well, and he liked to think he understood this Mickey Carson character. The two of them would get along perfectly. They were both hooligans. Allowing the two of them to share a cabin would be a success, containing their pranks and nonsense to a single location, or the worst mistake of his career, concentrating their efforts and promoting collaboration. Only time could tell.

Zack offered a single eyebrow at the shorter man's flowery vocabulary. He wasn't impressed. In fact, he was rather annoyed. Moseby knew better than anyone how to ruin a day. "What the hell? When does he move in?"

"He's packing up his belongings now and will move in at his earliest convenience. I'll allow you to close up here and take the rest of the day off to clean up your undeniably untidy room. And I'll do you the service of overlooking your colorful choice of words."

Zack nodded, not out of gratitude, but in understanding that his world was about to change and there was nothing he could do about it. It seemed to be happening all around him these days. There was absolutely no stopping it. He watched Moseby turn on his heel and strut boldly away, disappearing behind a corner. Zack took a deep breath and let it out in a single, heaving sigh before closing up the smoothie bar, not that he expected more than a handful of customers for the rest of his shift.

His undeniably untidy room was just that. Undeniably untidy. Zack groaned at the daunting task before him and started cleaning the side of the room he didn't want. It didn't take as long as he expected before the room was actually presentable. Zack made sure it was clear that his side of the room was the one he wanted, the side closest to the door. There was no need to be close to the bathroom, and he didn't want to worry about sneaking out in case he ever needed to do that.

Zack was just tossing the last pair of sweatpants onto a pile of clothes in the corner of the room when the door flew open and his new roommate came strolling in. Zack simply watched as the boy, who was thankfully his age, moved all of his stuff into the room and settle onto the bed that was clearly left for him. The boy was shorter than Zack by a few inches and sported medium-length, buzzed, black hair. His tanned skin stretched tautly over his high cheekbones and almost feminine features. His skinny frame told him he was probably a nerd like Cody, quite possibly the last thing he wanted in a roommate, but the black Pink Floyd shirt he was wearing suggested there was more to him than met the eye. Perhaps they would be able to become friends.

The boy checked his watch and sat up, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and looking at Zack, "I'm Mickey."

Zack nodded. He looked familiar. He recognized the odd name and the droopy eyes from somewhere. "Zack."

Mickey's eyebrows raised slightly, "Zack Martin. Oh okay. I think we're in the same math class."

Zack nodded again, this time with more vigor. That was where the boy was from. The two of them sat in the back of the class and usually used the hour-long morning class to catch up on lost sleep. In fact, they had both served a detention together for that same reason. "Yeah we are." Awkwardly, Zack settled back into his own bed, unable to think of anything to ask him or share about himself.

He felt uncomfortable, like Mickey was expecting him to say or do something and he wasn't doing it. For the first time in his life Zack was forced to share something with somebody other than his twin brother. It was a new feeling for him. It was almost as if there was a glass wall between them, obviously and awkwardly there, but he was unable to hide behind it. There was no more privacy.

Mickey caught onto the awkwardness as well. "Got any booze around here?"

Zack offered a casual laugh and shook his head, caught off guard by the question. "No. Sorry."

Mickey shrugged and dug in his backpack, pulling out a small wooden box. He opened the box and almost immediately Zack could identify a rather pungent smell that he couldn't quite place. From within the box he produced a skinny white tube of some sort. It wasn't until he dug out an orange lighter that Zack realized the smell was marijuana and the white tube was a joint.

Mickey noticed Zack staring at him and the objects he held in his hand. With a slight smile, he extended the joint. "You smoke?"

Zack thought for a moment about the question. The answer was no, he had never smoked weed before, but there was something about it that drew him to the idea. There were so many varied opinions about the drug; it made him want to find out if it was really a bad thing or if the claims that it was a medicinal herb were true. He nearly laughed as he imagined the look on Cody's face should his brother ever find out he had lit up a joint. "No, man. Thanks though."

Zack's hesitation wasn't lost on Mickey, but the new roommate ignored it, shrugged, and flicked the lighter, igniting the joint. He took a long inhale and held it peacefully for a few seconds before exhaling smoothly and evenly, blowing smoke into the air. He relaxed back into his pillows and took another drag, letting out a hearty sigh as another milky cloud emerged from his mouth.

The smell was instantly present in the room, making Zack crinkle his nose. It wasn't pleasant and it was terribly obvious. He turned and looked at Mickey, noticing how his eyes were drooping even more. "Won't you get in trouble for that? I mean, the whole ship can smell that shit." Zack knew that if the smell attracted the nose of a certain Marion Moseby, he wasn't taking any blame for it.

Mickey just laughed, "Nah. The cabins are pretty airtight. If you invite Moseby over for popcorn and a movie or something I'll probably get busted, but otherwise we'll be fine." He didn't look away after he finished talking, seeing the way Zack eyed the expertly rolled joint. The look in his eye was one of deep desire. Mickey wasn't sure if Zack was aware, but he could tell that the blond-haired boy would be medicating before he knew it.

Curious, Zack watched his new roommate fade into a dream. There was something about him that suggested a possible friendship. Mickey certainly wasn't a nerd. He didn't spend all his time with his nose buried in his textbooks or the next week's homework. He wasn't a computer geek, programming useless programs. He wasn't a jock, obsessed with some sport to the point of social incapability. He was casual, relaxed, and seemed pretty easy to get along with. For once, maybe Moseby had actually done something good for him. For once, it appeared as if Moseby messed up. Zack grinned and slipped out of the room, enjoying a stroll around the sun-soaked decks of the ship.

Over the course of the week it became more and more evident to Zack that he and Mickey could become rather close friends. They shared many of the same interests. As it would turn out, they both enjoyed a well-planned practical joke, hot girls, and both detested nearly everything about school. Even though Mickey wasn't from Boston, they shared a common love for nearly every Boston or New England sports team. They both played basketball and skateboarded. Neither of them particularly enjoyed winter. The similarities between them were almost eerie. For a brief moment, Zack wondered if Mickey was somehow his twin and if somebody had mixed him and Cody up at birth.

At the same time, though, it became more and more evident that Mickey was rather different. He was quiet and mysterious at times and an hour later he would be so talkative, Zack would have to leave the cabin. Usually, when these bouts of hyperactivity came on, Mickey would light up a joint and settle back down into his bed, his air of quietness settling calmly around him. Zack wondered if Mickey knew he was getting hyperactive and that's why he smoked, or if it was for another reason. One thing was certain; Mickey didn't enjoy talking to any extent about his family. Whenever Zack approached the subject, no matter how carefully he tiptoed around it, Mickey would change course or completely stop talking.

After a few days and no consequences, Zack realized that either nobody cared that Mickey was smoking weed in their cabin or nobody knew. The smell either wasn't as strong as that first joint he lit up, or the smell had settled slightly into their cabin. Once, when Zack had been making up a smoothie for his brother and Bailey, she had commented on his cologne. He hadn't been wearing cologne, but accepted the compliment anyway, noticing the way it made Cody's eyes snap up from the counter to his girlfriend and then to Zack.

By the time Friday came, Moseby had made a quick stop by their cabin, but hadn't commented on the smell at all. Thankfully the Mexican buffet that was being prepared not far from their cabin and the generous breeze that blew the scent of bean burritos towards them seemed to cover it up. When Moseby left, Mickey waited a few minutes and pulled out the wooden box, lighting up an unfinished joint. He took a long drag and paused before exhaling.

"So do you want to know my life story or something?" Each word was articulated with its own small could of smoke.

Zack nodded, fearing words may scare his new friend away from the obviously touchy subject. In truth, he could feel his heart beating both faster and harder anticipating whatever bit of juicy gossip had caused Mickey to keep away from the topic.

He took another drag and let it out. "When I was real young, my mom was always drunk and my dad molested me. Thankfully one day my mom put me into foster care so I could get away from my dad, but every other fucking house I went to I was either beaten or molested or some shit. Most of the time it was both." He didn't pause for effect, knowing the value of his words. In fact, he didn't want to give Zack to unleash the bombardment of questions that he usually received when recounting his life story.

Zack found a crack of an opportunity as Mickey licked his lips. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Mickey let his mouth hang open for a second before responding. Never before had anybody reacted this way. Usually he was being showered with pity or asked so many questions about what exactly happened to him. In some cruel cases, Mickey knew his audience just wanted to make him suffer by recounting all of the times he had a grown man's cock shoved in his face. "It's alright. I'm over that shit."

Zack didn't react, catching the glint in Mickey's eye that indicated some kind of gratitude. He simply figured it was for expressing some kind of concern at all. He tended to be a man of few words as well, just another similarity between the two of them.

"I was always looking for a way to get away from the abuse, but it's not exactly easy to get away when you're owned by the fucking state and you're just a weak little ten or twelve year old." He took a long drag, remembering back to all of the other boys he met at all of the foster homes he had been sent to. "I wasn't the only one either. It happens more than you think. Those fuckers make videos a lot of the time and they all share them. It's like this whole community of fucked up pervs. One of the bastards at this foster home picked me out of the bunch because he recognized me from one of his favorite videos."

Zack couldn't find the words to properly react, noticing the way Mickey had actually shuddered, but settled on what he thought captured his emotions. "That's fucked up man."

"Tell me about it. You wouldn't understand but all of this," he paused, searching for the right words, "shit gets to you. It fucks with your head. I was real depressed. It got to the point where I couldn't even get my ass out of bed in the morning." He turned his attention from the pillow he had been addressing to Zack's surprisingly intense eyes and regretted it immediately. "One of them made us sleep naked, three or four of us all to one bed." He took another drag feeling the effects of the plant relax the muscles he didn't realize were tensed. "I got into drugs. I started taking Adderall just to get myself up in the morning, just to want to do something. Then I got into doing blow and was pretty fucked up. This is when I was like thirteen."

"But you're off that now, right? I mean, I haven't seen you do that stuff here." Zack wasn't sure if he liked the idea of having a roommate snorting cocaine five feet away from where he slept. Weed, he was fine with, but cocaine just seemed like too much.

"Yeah. I'm off that shit." He took the last drag from the joint and threw it in the wastebasket after making sure the ember was out. "Anyway, I met my girlfriend, Carley. I was actually staying at this home and the guy would beat me when he was drunk, but the woman was real nice to me. Anyway, I met Carley and I was just messing around with her at this mall because I was high, but she seemed into me so we kept meeting there. I guess somewhere along the way we became more than friends. I don't really remember it happening, just that I always felt safe and wanted when I was with her." He paused, waiting for a giggle of laughter. When he received none, he kept going, "She convinced her family to take me in and they helped me get clean and I started realizing that there was more to life, you know. I mean, all my life I'd been beaten and molested and everything. I was free." He shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "I guess that's it. I got lucky."

"How'd you get here?"

"She got accepted to Seven Seas High and told them she'd only go if they let me in too. I guess it worked. I pretty much owe everything to her."

Zack nodded, slowly, thinking over all Mickey had said. It was clear why he always avoided the subject. Now, Zack felt bad for pressing him to talk about it. If he had known his new friend had been through so much pain and horror, he would have never kept bringing it up. To Zack, Mickey's behavior seemed normal now. Of course, he didn't want to talk about his family. Of course he experienced some of the worst attitude changes Zack had ever seen. All of the torture and drugs had changed him. He was surprised that Mickey was as normal as he was. He figured it must take a strong-minded person to suffer through that and come out as good as he did.

"Shit man, sorry I kept wanting you to talk about it."

Mickey shrugged and smiled. He wouldn't try to dispute that fact. Zack had asked nearly twice a day about his family or where he came from, often times disguising it by asking what he'd be doing if he weren't on the SS Tipton at that moment. Mickey had to admit that Zack had a clever way of getting to information without asking for it. "It's all good. I just think you may as well know what you're dealing with here."

Zack shrugged. "We're friends. Nothing changes that."

Mickey nodded and sat up, looking at him confidently in the eyes. For the first time since walking onto the ship he felt as if he might have a true friend. Someone he could be comfortable sharing with. "You going the party tomorrow night?"

Zack looked at him, confused. "What party?"

"Party in the hold. Tomorrow night. I guess all the big dogs are going to be off the ship that night and there's going to be a huge party. Should be some fun shit."

Zack was a little hurt and surprised that he hadn't even heard of it. He usually prided himself on being a rather popular invite to some of the parties around the ship, but even the ones he wasn't expressly invited too, he still knew about. It was like this time, somebody was trying to keep him away. "Who's putting it all together?"

"I don't know. Wes Carlisle and Tristan whatever-the-fuck."

"Roberts? And Wes? I hate those two fags. They're always trying to show me up or something."

"What'd you do to piss them off?"

"I guess Wes saw Tristan's girlfriend flirting with me and now they're both out to get me or something. I'm pretty sure they're fags."

Mickey laughed, which made Zack realize how rarely he heard the sound. "I wouldn't doubt it. Still you should go. There'll be so many people there, you won't even see them."

"I don't know. I'll think about it."

"That's a no?"

"One week and you already know me."

Mickey turned his attention back to putting his stash away. If Zack didn't want to go to the party, so be it. Mickey didn't know much about his new roommate before he moved in, but he did know that Zack was somewhat popular among the girls on the ship. Since moving in, he had discovered that Zack didn't smoke weed, but that he drank on occasion. Mickey didn't think of himself as somebody who judged others too harshly, but he was glad Zack wasn't a prude, that he knew how to have a little fun.

The party, he knew, would be a good time. It'd be a good opportunity to smoke a little bit with a few of the other guys he generally hung out with and get shitfaced drunk with Carley. He thought over sleeping arrangements for the following night. He couldn't really bring Carley back to this cabin if Zack was going to stay there, and from what he had heard, Carley's roommate wouldn't be attending any such party. In fact, they all had to make a conscious effort to keep the party from her, suspecting she'd snitch if she ever found out about it.

Mickey sat up, noticing Zack was changing into basketball shorts and a looser fitting shirt. "Where are you going?"

The shirt he pulled over his head caught on his face and muffled his words a bit, "Gym. I could use a workout."

"Oh. Hey, where are you gonna sleep tomorrow?"

Zack paused and looked at Mickey. It was obvious he wanted the room to himself that night. Zack was in no place to argue. He could sleep in Cody's cabin, just as easily as he could his own. He was surprised when he found himself so open to the idea. It was almost as if sharing the cabin was easier than having it all to himself. "I can sleep in my brother's cabin. Got a big night planned with your girl?"

Mickey shrugged. He didn't actually have anything planned, but he couldn't promise nothing would happen after the party. Truthfully, even though he and his girlfriend had been dating for at least three years, they hadn't had sex. In fact, the thought scared him. Every time he imagined having sex with the woman he loved so much, he couldn't help but feel the excruciating pain of every time he had been molested and imagine that's what she'd feel with him inside her.

By the time Mickey had taken a shower, changed into a pair of jeans that Carley thought he looked especially good in, and donned his Pink Floyd shirt, the sun was already below the horizon. Moseby, as well as a large portion of the other ship managers and supervisors had exited the ship, trusting that the students would be able to make it through one night relatively unsupervised. When Mickey left, he extended another invite to the party, telling Zack to keep it in mind. In fact, Zack was feeling even less compelled to go after walking in on his brother and Bailey making out earlier that day. The way they had been groping at each other made him sick to his stomach. Cody had no business doing anything like that with a girl.

When the door shut behind Mickey, Zack sprawled out over his bed, and took his laptop out. Firing up the zombie video game, he plugged his phone into some speakers and turned them up much louder than he ever would have risked in Moseby's presence. He didn't even notice how the time passed and how the moon rose and became perfectly framed in the porthole window of his cabin. He didn't notice how the light spilled into his room and the skin of his thigh, just below the line of his boxers. Instead, he focused on the legions of animated undead and the music that pumped out of the small speakers. After another ten or so minutes of the same thing, Zack killed the last zombie on the level he had been trying to clear for weeks now and sat back, a smile on his face. When the song stopped and all became silent, the smile faded rapidly and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it to return. He was alone. Everybody was at a massive party and he was sitting in his cabin alone.

He slipped into a fresh pair of jeans and looked out of the window. It was dark outside, slightly humid, and he could hear a few wandering fragments of broken conversation. The voices sounded like they were older tourists coming back from the day's excursion. Zack figured most of the people his age were at the party. With a frown, he remembered back to his life a year or so in the past and how parties were never really parties unless he was there. Everything had changed aboard the SS Tipton. For the first time, Zack actually found himself working to get through school, albeit barely. Cody seemed to have grown up and become a completely different, independent person. He even had a girlfriend. Zack didn't have any such thing. He thought back to his life a year or so in the past and to his girls: Maddie and Max.

Maddie. The thought of his hopelessly desperate pursuit made him laugh. She was way out of his league. He figured it might even have been a stretch if she was his age, but decided he could have managed it. The humor he found quickly turned sour as he realized how much of a joke he must have been to her. He had put so much energy into impressing her and showing her how mature he could be and she probably just laughed it off every time she went home. He pushed the thought aside and focused on Max.

She had been the first girl he truly had tried to have a relationship with. They had just been friends for the longest time, but one day Zack had realized exactly what she meant to him. There had been a moment when she had her hair done perfectly and she had even been wearing makeup. He remembered thinking she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. No matter how hard he tried to woo her, again, his advances had been rejected. It had been that rejection that had catapulted him into a blind rage. He focused all his efforts on becoming as attractive as possible, working out when he had the chance and hanging around girls whenever he could. She had never confirmed his suspicions of her being jealous, but his reputation as a ladies' man had grown beyond control.

After Max and before boarding the SS Tipton for the first time, he hadn't even tried to have a girlfriend. Of course, that changed when he met Maya, the goddess from New York City. Their relationship had been laughable. Zack smiled; physically, it had been amazing. They had shared just about every intimate experience possible with one another. They had regularly shared a joke that either of them could find their way around the others' body with their eyes closed. Emotionally, however, they're relationship had been non-existent. With a great sigh, Zack closed his laptop and set it back on the floor. He and Maya had shared some amazing times, but they had never really been dating.

He unplugged his cell phone and opened up the list of contacts. Scrolling through the list of names and shooting off text messages, it became evident that every one of his friends was busy or didn't want to talk to him. Woody and Addison were on a date. Woody had been sure to brag about that all week to anybody who would listen to him. Cody and Bailey were always together. Zack grinned, wondering what they were doing all the time they spent with one another. He knew, from walking in on them, that first base had been long since crossed. He couldn't help but wonder exactly how far they had gone. He shook his head to clear away the thought, growing disgusted both with it and with how curious he was becoming. He turned his thoughts to London, but she was probably indulging in some upper-class luxury that he knew would only ever grace the edges of his imagination.

Full of pent up disappointment, he peered at himself in the glass above the bathroom sink. He eyed the toilet paper that was just an arm's length away and considered a quick date with his right hand, but decided that was much too desperate. He spritzed himself with cologne and decided he may as well go to the party. He couldn't sit in his cabin alone any longer.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm back.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**_II_**

The hold itself was rather large, spanning the entirety of the ship, however the sheer number of people inside made it hard for him to maneuver. People to his left shamelessly engaged in all kinds of sexual activities, people to his right danced with abandon. In front of him, people laughed and drank, constantly tapping what seemed like endless kegs. Zack wanted to know where it all came from, he wanted to know how they even broke into the hold in the first place, but he realized it didn't even matter. He was there, and he wasn't alone.

From a few yards away he shot a nod towards a skater punk who always seemed so cool with his baggy jeans and no-name band shirts and shouted, "What's up, Alex?"

The kid just shook the hair that wasn't in his eyes out of his eyes and nodded back. "'Sup Cody."

"I'm Zack," he shouted back, trying not to let the mistake bother him as much as it did. Under no circumstances did he want to be confused with his brother.

"My bad, dude. You look a ton like your brother."

Zack frowned. "We're twins."

"Oh. Legit." Alex left without another word and somewhere from the crowd, he grabbed a girl who draped herself over him, ready to be taken back to a cabin.

With a bit of envy, Zack picked up one of the red plastic cups that littered the floor and smelled its long-dried contents. Beer. He looked into the golden stain in the bottom of the cup for a long time, contemplating, eyebrows nearly pressed together, before a thin smile spread across his face and he dropped the cup back onto the ground, fully content with the rest of his night's plans. He was moving to a keg, heart beating faster than he would have liked, before he even knew it.

As he reached a keg and filled his cup with golden liquid he couldn't help but think about what Cody would say, or Max, or Maddie. He tried to push the thought out of his head but their voices kept echoing in the emptiness and he couldn't do anything about it. With a certain conviction he decided he needed a drink. He needed a drink because that's what you did at parties. He needed a drink because everyone else had a drink. He needed a drink to forget about his disease, his memoires of Maddie and Max and Maya. He looked around again and noticed more people. There was a couple kissing violently, hands meandering the other's body without a care in the world. They may as well have been tearing the other's clothes off. Zack smiled. It reminded him of Maya. There was another couple behind them with a larger group who kept stealing smiles and glances at the other knowing full well whose arms they would fall asleep in. Suddenly, something broke inside him as he realized everyone was with somebody, and while he wasn't alone in his cabin anymore, now he was just alone in a massive group of drunken students. He couldn't decide what was worse.

"I think you filled her up, bro."

Zack snapped out of his trance, feeling the sticky liquid pouring out over the brim of his cup and over his hand and onto the floor. Embarrassed, he laughed and turned to the boy behind him, "Don't want to miss a drop if you know what I mean."

The boy laughed and slammed his own cup into Zack's sending the top fifth of his drink onto the floor, but it didn't matter to him because now Zack wasn't alone. Not stopping to let the smile melt from his face, he cocked his head back and downed as much of the liquid as he could in a few gulps.

He fought back a face as the warm, skunky beer finally registered with his taste buds, smiling to the other boy. "Hits the spot."

The boy nodded and meandered off, half dancing and half walking. He didn't have to get far before the massive, pulsating throng of people swallowed him up. Watching the boy disappear and leave Zack alone again, he didn't even notice the couple approach him from behind.

"Zack, what are you doing?"

Cody. Zack narrowed his eyes wondering what his goodie-goodie brother was doing at this party. He sighed heavily, pretending to be exhausted with the question because what else would he be doing? "Partying, bro."

"I can see that. Where have you been? I've been looking for you."

Zack thought for a second and pointed vaguely behind him, "I've been hanging with them. I've been here for a while." Something about the nature of his answer made him proud, but embarrassed at the same time. He ignored the thought. "What's up?"

Cody pointed to the girl draped over his shoulder, "Bailey's up. She's totally wasted."

She laughed and slurred, "I'm not wasted. I just had a few drinks. I'm fine, Cody. Don'cha know farm girls can drink just fine?"

Zack laughed with her and slapped her on the shoulder. "I always knew you had it in you, Bailey!"

There was no mistaking the mischievous glimmer in Zack's eye, but Cody wasn't impressed. "Don't encourage her. I've never seen her like this. She just let herself go. Zack, she's out of control."

"Well I just wanted one drink and I told him to come to the party to have a few drinks." It was like it was the simplest thing. "And then we could go back to what we were doing." She laughed devilishly and kissed his neck with the ferocity of a hungry vampire.

Zack smiled innocently at his brother, who was trying to pry the drunken girl off of him. "What is it that you were doing?" He tried as best he could to keep a level tone throughout the question, but he couldn't help but feel that the words had rushed out of his mouth too quickly.

Cody's response was far too quick, "Homework." The single word rang out like a shrill shout into the blackness and stillness of night before getting absorbed by the sounds of the teenage lust around them.

Zack nodded in disbelief, feeling something break inside him yet again. The feeling spread to his head and grew like a tumor, and he couldn't help but wonder how he was a ladies' man of seventeen years, alone, and his nerdy twin brother could stand with his girlfriend draped over his shoulder and obviously in the mood for a little fun. More itching fire in his fingertips. Nothing was fair.

"Homework, eh?" He tried to smile but when he realized how fake it was he raised the cup to his mouth and took a big gulp, avoiding eye contact.

Cody just scowled, "Yeah, what's it to you?" He wore his defensiveness on his face like a mask, dull and scary and confronting.

Zack just raised his arms in defeat; there was no need for another bout with Cody. He could only just refrain from cracking his knuckles awkwardly; aware of the increasing frequency of the fights they shared. He had tried to reevaluate his relationship with his brother, but Zack came to the conclusion that he was being replaced and he didn't know how he felt about that. He was torn, sad that his brother so obviously loved Bailey because he thought she was way too good for him anyway, but he was also happy that his brother so obviously loved the girl. He couldn't deny the fact that it was good for Cody to have somebody he trusted and loved enough to grow up a little bit with, but it was becoming harder and harder to not spit it back into his face because of the way he acted about it sometimes, making it the most obvious secret in the world.

To make up for their near-encounter, he handed Cody a pristine red plastic cup filled with beer. He wasn't at all surprised that Cody was absolutely sober. He wouldn't have believed anybody if they told him a single drop of alcohol had passed Cody's lips. Before he could protest, Zack patted him on the should and yelled over the music, "Have a beer. Loosen up," and reached for another.

Cody looked his brother in the eye for a second before dropping his inquisitive gaze to the swirling, white froth atop the golden-colored drink. Curiosity built quickly within him as he tried to imagine the earthy, golden taste of beer before realizing he had never tasted it. Not once. And he succeeded in convincing himself that if he put down this cup, Zack would never let him forget about his naïve innocence, which Cody tended to call his higher morals. The risks and rewards were too imbalanced, he decided, and he raised the cup to his mouth, abandoning every fiber of his better nature and disregarding their screams. Cautiously, he took a few large gulps, ignoring the flavor, if only to impress Zack. When Cody lowered the cup and licked the froth off his lips, earning a curious glance from Zack, he raised it back up to his mouth and continued ingesting the drink, relishing the warming sensation it had in his throat and stomach and all too aware of the peculiar taste: not necessarily good, but undeniably satisfying. When he lowered the cup, smiling, he could feel something inside of his own body snap and begin leaking out into the openness of night: a moral, but perhaps a burden. The cup was nearly empty.

Zack laughed, "Pretty good, huh?"

"It's alright," he said tentatively, but was reduced to silence, feeling compelled to finish what remained in the cup.

They paused and allowed the sounds of the crowd and the aroma of people and beer wash over them like warm waves, eye contact never faltering. They smiled. The smell wasn't exactly pleasant, sweat and warm beer, but as unspoken words passed between them, they silently decided to reach for another cup and fill it to the top.

"I never thought I'd be doing this," Cody said. "I'm drinking with my brother." Then he laughed with a prideful smile plastered across his slightly less innocent face. A very specific few words made his heart flutter. He was drinking for the first time, and he was doing it with his twin.

"You grow up so fast." Zack smiled, but his eyes remained dark. He already knew he was drinking for another reason, a darker reason. But a reason nonetheless, and that justified it. It had to. What else could?

By the time the moon was halfway to the horizon, they were shitfaced drunk and didn't even care because everybody else was too. Sometime during their drinking Bailey had disappeared without a word, slinking off into the busyness of the party. Zack asked Cody and he shrugged, but neither of them worried. Cody was sure she'd be okay, convinced by the alcohol in his veins. As he stood, he wavered like a skyscraper in the wind, frame bending at will to the invisible force. His eyes rolled groggily around in their sockets before he slumped onto Zack's shoulder, limp like a ragdoll.

Zack propped him up, a hand between his shoulder blades and another on his chest to support him. "Alright, buddy. Let's get you to your room."

"Zack, I don't feel so good."

"Well shit, Cody. You drank like you're Irish or something."

"Maybe I am. Hell, we live in Boston."

Zack stopped for a second, trying to process the almost incomprehensible words leaking out of Cody's mouth and giggled. It didn't make any sense. Cody was drunk.

"Why did I do this? Bring me to your room, Zack. I can't let Bailey see me like this," he slurred. He slung his arm around Zack's shoulder and tried to move his feet faster, feeling vomit rise in his throat. "I'm going to puke." He emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor without giving Zack enough time to react.

"Shit, Codes! Watch out, you almost puked on me."

They continued walking, past the rows upon rows of cabins, past the blaring lights that adorned the ceiling. Neither of them was looking forward to the next day, fully aware that it would probably be the worst day of their lives. The small rumble of a chuckle started from Zack's core and rapidly spread to the rest of his body, nearly disabling him with hysterical convulsions. He couldn't imagine having drank as much as Cody had. In fact, he wasn't feeling that bad. After only downing a few glasses, he was undeniably impaired, but not as hammered as his brother, or his brother's girlfriend for that matter. Zack gnashed his teeth together, soundlessly in thought. An idea like a tiny snake crept its way into his head. He didn't like it, but at the same time there was a definite alluring quality to it. The snake took hold within him and took over his body, bones and blood and all.

Zack escorted Cody to his cabin, which he shared with Woody. The cleanliness of Cody's side was overwhelming. It seemed like there was simply nothing there. Cody had always been a nut about cleaning, but Zack had never seen a room that looked so un-lived-in. Upon entering the cabin Woody greeted them both with a smile and didn't try to cover up the fact that he was observing them both carefully. Ignoring his large friend's prying eyes, Zack laid Cody down on the bed and pulled off his shoes and socks. Then, he undid Cody's pants and removed them with a single tug before folding them and setting them atop the sock-filled shoes. He propped Cody up onto his side and jammed a pillow under his back.

"What's up with him?" Woody's question nearly made Zack jump. He had forgotten that he was even in the room.

Zack laughed, "He's fucking wasted."

"Cody is?" The surprise that laced the question was horribly evident. Zack wasn't the only person who thought Cody would never abandon his better morals, or whatever he called them.

"Yeah."

"You guys went to that party, huh?"

"Yeah." Even Woody knew about the party.

"I didn't expect Cody to ever do anything like that."

Zack shrugged and kept working on getting Cody calmed down, settled in the bed with the sheets pulled over him. The awkward angle he was laying at, being propped up by the pillow, didn't make it any easier. "He had fun. Make sure he doesn't sleep on his back. Keep this pillow shoved under there."

"Okay. Why'd you bring him here?"

"What do you mean? This is his cabin right?"

"Yeah. But why didn't you bring him to Bailey's room?"

Zack shrugged again and looked over the emptiness of his brother's side of the cabin again, an unsettling feeling growing in his stomach. "Why would I bring him," his voice tapered off. "This is just easier."

Woody didn't say anything, just went back to whatever it was he was doing on his laptop. He didn't even notice when Zack slipped out of the room as silently as he could. He had to find Bailey and make sure she got back to her cabin. Cody would never forgive him if Zack left her out there. He'd blame himself for the neglect too. It wasn't something Zack wanted to deal with.

He found her on the sky deck, nearly passed out, laying on one of the red lounge chairs, in full view of every passerby. At least she was safe, he thought. He approached her and propped her up, hoping he wouldn't have to carry her. "Let's get you back to your cabin, Bailey."

"But I'm just starting to have a good time." He could barely understand her.

"The party's over Bailey. Come on. Time for bed."

She obliged, not able to find the energy to argue with him further, and decided that she was fully capable of walking, which allowed Zack a brief moment of inward celebration before growing slightly annoyed at her never-fading sense of pride.

As she dragged her feet across the floor, her shoes made a horrible scraping sound that threatened to drive Zack mad. It repeated and repeated and he started to wonder if he had made a mistake in bringing her back to her cabin. _Maybe I should have left her on the sky deck,_he thought, but he decided that couldn't have been an option.

He fumbled with the knob for some indiscernible reason when they reached the appropriate room number, but he blamed it on her hanging over his shoulder and he could have sworn her hand was making its way down to his crotch. After a few seconds of debating whether or not he should let her continue, he shook his head and opened the door, pulling her into the safety and privacy of the room. He flipped the light on and couldn't help but notice Cody's laptop sitting on the bedside table. In a flash, his eyes scanned across the whole room, looking for signs of anything. He couldn't believe that Cody was actually staying in Bailey's cabin, even less that there was only one bed. He made a brief lap around the room, scanning as quickly and thoroughly as possible every nook and cranny. He even opened drawers of the bedside table and was horrified, but not entirely surprised, to find an open box of condoms. He swallowed the rising lump in his throat before turning to her, "Here you go, Bailey. Don't sleep on your back." Then he turned and headed for the door.

"Cody," she slurred incoherently, "where are you going? You're not going to tuck me in?"

Zack's mind raced. So many emotions welled within him in one moment. He didn't know what to do with them all. Recently, Cody and Bailey had been pissing him off beyond words, and despite his moment of peace with his brother, the night had not been kind to these sentiments, instead agitating them. Cody was supposed to be the nerd. He was supposed to be the socially awkward, scared of girls, little kid he had always been. _The only thing Cody should be sticking himself in is a book, not a girl_, Zack thought to himself, pleased with his cleverness. He gnashed his teeth together, aware that his knuckles were growing white with pressure. Cody wasn't a virgin. His brother had had sex with Bailey. The thought infuriated him. Cody had lost his virginity before he had.

"Come on Cody." She slipped her hands up under his shirt and placed a kiss gently on his lips.

_Fuck it._

"I can tuck you in." He picked her up and set her down on the bed, removing his shirt and jeans before helping her out of her clothing. His plan was coming to light even faster than he had anticipated. She and Cody were making this far too easy for him.

They crashed backwards, onto her bed, lips pressed together. The passion with which she kissed him surprised him at first, indicating the strength of her and Cody's shared lust. The idea made him pull back; perhaps they really were in love, like Cody insisted they were. Attempting to remove any thoughts of his brother, he turned his attention to removing as much of her clothing as he could get his hands on. When she stood on her knees completely naked, supported on her tan and slender legs that sloped to form graceful hips, a sigh escaped Zack's throat. Her flat stomach and perfectly shaped breasts were too inviting. Cody didn't deserve a girl like this. He probably didn't even realize what a goddess he had.

As their sexual exploits became ever more heated, Bailey decided that this experience with her boyfriend was nice. Better than the rest of them had been, perhaps. It was a nice change. Usually Cody was so paranoid, asking her if she was comfortable and reminding her that they could stop if she was ever uncomfortable. She liked the sincerity and gentlemanliness of his efforts, but usually he was the one that caused them to stop. It had continued that way until they shared a terrible argument. Voices had been raised and things had been said that shouldn't have been. For the first time, Bailey had genuinely feared for their relationship. Eventually they had moved past it and decided to finally take their relationship to _that_ level. Ever since then, they had booth been a little more forthcoming in their cravings for one another. This was different, however. Maybe it was the alcohol making him act differently, but Cody was much bolder, much more commanding. She liked it. He seemed like more of a man.

Zack only rolled to the side of her, glistening with sweat once she reached her climax. It had been her first time ever climaxing and the feeling had been so pleasurable it was almost uncomfortable. When the sensation ended, though, she wanted nothing more than to feel it again.

She found herself barely able to form words, "Cody, that was amazing."

Zack nodded his agreement, hardly able to believe that his first time had not only come after his nerd brother's, but with a girl who wasn't even his girlfriend. He had always expected that his first time would have come with Maya, but towards the end of their relationship it almost seemed as if she had gotten bored with him. The thought angered him. Bailey was much more attractive anyway, he decided.

Under the covers, she reached and closed her hand around his deflating penis and turned to him with a brief kiss, "I swear, it's bigger or something tonight." Another kiss. "You really used it right."

Zack grinned. _Serves you right, Cody. Your girlfriend likes my cock more._ He kept the laugh that swelled in his chest to himself. Any reservations that had made him regret sleeping with his brother's girlfriend evaporated. Everything had gone perfectly to plan. Not only was Cody passed out drunk in his cabin, he was no longer a virgin, and Bailey liked sex with him better than sex with Cody. The realization was bittersweet. He knew he couldn't brag about it to anybody.

"You're amazing, Bailey." He looked over and placed a kiss on her lips, but she was sleeping. He laughed, which quickly faded into a devilish look. Bailey was horribly intoxicated. _Maybe she won't even remember this tomorrow,_he thought. It was entirely possible.

He slipped into his pair of boxers, feeling on top of the world. He had a good feeling about his plan. There was a chance he'd get away with it. He slipped into his jeans. He had to get away with it. On the off chance Cody found out, their relationship would be ruined. They could never be friends afterwards. He slipped into his shirt, stealing a glance at the unconscious Bailey Pickett. He was starting to become aware that what he had done might be classified as rape. He remembered learning somewhere that if the other party isn't sober and able to make decisions properly, sex could be considered rape. The thought shot ice down his spine, but he ignored it. Bailey had been more than willing to have sex with him. She had advanced on him. If anything, she had raped him.

_Maybe that's a bit of a stretch,_ he thought.

It didn't matter if it was rape or not, Zack decided. What he did had crossed one of the lines in his and his brother's relationship. He tried to put himself in Cody's shoes. _What if I had a girl like Bailey and Cody got her drunk and fucked her?_The answer didn't appeal to him. Zack assumed he would fly off the handle and probably do something to Cody that he'd regret later. The collar in his shirt was beginning to feel incredibly tight.

_I have to cover this up._

He knew if Bailey did remember their adventure and brought it up to Cody the next day, Cody would remember that he had been brought to his and Woody's cabin and definitely hadn't had sex with his girlfriend. It wasn't likely Bailey would remember right away, but if she did ever mention it to Cody, everything was for naught. He had to put Cody to bed in Bailey's room and hope that, if Bailey did bring it up, Cody would simply think he couldn't remember.

He hurried back to Cody and Woody's cabin and opened the door just wide enough so that he could squeeze silently through. When he was in, he shrugged. Woody was the heaviest sleeper he knew, and Cody was knocked-out drunk. He shut the door and made his way over to his brother. Cody was sleeping the same position he was in when Zack left. Again, this was proving to be rather easy. He slid an arm under Cody's back and another under his thighs and tried to pick him up. He was reasonably light and Zack was able to pick him up a few feet above the bed, but he knew he wouldn't be able to carry him across the ship in this fashion. He needed help. There was perhaps one person on the entire ship that he trusted enough to help him with this, and he might be busy with his own girlfriend. Zack decided it was worth the risk. Mickey was the only person he could turn to.

On the contrary, Mickey wasn't busy with his girlfriend. Instead, he and Carley were lovingly curled up in each other's arms. Zack nudged the black-haired boy's shoulder and whispered his name.

Mickey picked his head up and looked around, confused when his eyes fell upon those of Zack, which were wide with concern, but glimmered with something else. "What?"

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"My brother." Zack swayed, but balanced himself before he fell over. He was much more drunk than he originally thought.

"What are you talking about?"

"I need you to help me carry him to somebody else's cabin."

Mickey slid out of his girlfriend's arms and swung his feet out of bed. Slipping into a pair of sweatpants, he stood and laughed. "Why?"

Zack couldn't help but laugh too. "I'll explain later, just help me out."

"Can't you just tell me? I mean, you woke me up, man."

"Dammit, Mickey are you going to help me or not? Let's go," he snapped.

Between the two of them, they were able to transport the unconscious boy with ease. Their only concern becoming answer questions if somebody asked them what they were doing. Fortunately, the sleeping ship didn't offer a single, questioning passenger. They entered Bailey's cabin and put Cody into the bed. Zack tugged off Cody's shirt and threw it on the floor, along with scattering his socks and shoes, throwing his brother's pants in another direction.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Let's get out of here. Do you mind if I sleep in the cabin?"

"That's fine." He laughed at Zack's energy. He was wound up more than Mickey realized was possible for a Zack Martin.

He set to the task of explaining himself to his friend when they returned safely to the cabin. To his great surprise, Mickey didn't ask any questions, just nodded understandingly. When Zack finished his story, he raised his gaze to meet Mickey's deep brown eyes, pleased to find that they weren't hostile or angry or disappointed in any way.

"What do you think, did I screw up?"

"You actually fucked your brother's girlfriend?"

Zack nodded, a frown growing across his face.

Mickey shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, it might have been a bad move, but it's understandable since you're drunk."

Zack made a face, "I'm not that drunk."

The reply made the shorter boy break into a fit of laughter that was quickly silenced as he tried to become serious. His lingering smile betrayed his efforts. "Trust me Zack, you're fucking wasted right now."

"If you say so."

"I think the best thing would be to forget about it. Either way, I'm going back to bed." He crawled back into bed with the girl who slept soundly, leaving Zack to his thoughts.

He fell back onto his own bed and struggled to situate himself comfortably under his covers. When he finally relaxed, letting his head nestle into the pillow, he immediately fell asleep, utterly exhausted.

Zack's dreams didn't allow him a clear mind. He spent the rest of the night struggling to get through dreams where he and Bailey would meet up in obscure places and do nothing but fuck. No words were ever exchanged in these dreams; instead, grunts and groans passed between each of them as effortlessly as a breath or a sigh. A particularly troubling dream took him through the rest of the night. He and Bailey were in her cabin, enjoying some rather frisky foreplay, when Cody walked in. He wasn't mad, though. Instead, he joined in. Zack woke with a gasp as he was sandwiched between the two of them, on both the giving and receiving end of a full erection.

.

Neither of them suspected he had done anything the night before. As Zack was let into Bailey's cabin, he was met with pained smiles. It was evident that both of them were tremendously hung over, but neither displayed any hostility or anger towards him. In fact, Bailey looked rather glad to see him. He didn't miss the way Cody's eyes ran quickly over the room to make sure there weren't any signs of intimacy. He did, however, realize that he was in the clear.


End file.
